Bunker-busting bombs back on US agenda

It seemed too good to be true when the US Congress last year blocked funding for bunker-busting nuclear weapons. And so it was. This week the administration has come back with a request for &dollar;8.5 million to revive the project.

The US already has conventional earth-penetrating bombs, which destroy underground targets by burrowing 10 metres or more into soil before detonating. But they can’t get through rock to reach deeper, toughened bunkers. So the Pentagon and the National Nuclear Security Administration have spent &dollar;23 million on a study of a “robust nuclear earth penetrator” (RNEP) that can cut through 30 …

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